Kayaking in Biscayne National Park: Routes, Rentals and Guided Trips
Biscayne National Park is 95 percent water, and kayaking is one of the few ways to reach most of it under your own power. Launch for free from the designated area next to the Dante Fascell Visitor Center at Convoy Point, no fee and no permit needed for a day paddle. The park does not rent kayaks itself, so bring your own or book a guided trip through Biscayne National Park Institute, whose Heritage of Biscayne Cruise and other boat tours are still running. Our Everglades kayaking weekend itinerary pairs naturally with a Biscayne day if you are building a South Florida paddling trip.
Where to Launch: Convoy Point
Convoy Point, at the Dante Fascell Visitor Center, is the main mainland access point and the easiest place to launch your own kayak or canoe. There is a designated launch area next to the parking lot, and it costs nothing to put in. From here you are looking at Biscayne Bay itself, with the mangrove shoreline right along the park boundary and the barrier islands further out. Adams Key, to the south, is a popular secondary launching spot for reaching areas from that side of the park.
Where to Paddle: Jones Lagoon and Hurricane Creek
Two spots stand out for paddlers who want more than open bay water.
- Jones Lagoon. A shallow, mangrove-ringed lagoon known for rays, upside-down jellyfish, schools of fish and wading birds. Stay at least 300 feet from any bird rookery you come across, the park is specific about that distance.
- Hurricane Creek. A mangrove creek with what the park describes as excellent snorkeling beneath the mangrove roots alongside the paddling itself, a good stop if you want to get in the water partway through a trip.
Experienced paddlers can go further and cross the roughly seven mile expanse of Biscayne Bay to Elliott Key or Boca Chita Key, but that is an open-water crossing, not a casual mangrove paddle, and it needs real planning around wind and weather.
Rentals and Guided Trips
Kayak and canoe rentals are not currently offered inside the park, so you need your own boat to launch at Convoy Point. If you do not have one, Biscayne National Park Institute runs the park's official guided boat and paddling programs, including seasonal ranger-led canoe clinics and daily tours. Their Heritage of Biscayne Cruise crosses the bay and along the northernmost Florida Keys with a stop at Boca Chita Key, Elliott Key or Adams Key, and is the closest thing to a signature Biscayne boat tour currently running, alongside evening cruises and trips to the historic Stiltsville houses. None of these are kayak rentals specifically, they are guided boat trips, so if paddling your own kayak is the goal, you still need to bring gear.
Permits and Rules
A day paddle from Convoy Point needs no permit and no fee. The only paperwork most paddlers will run into is a free overnight parking permit, filled out at the visitor center, if you are camping on one of the islands and leaving a vehicle at Convoy Point overnight. Respect the 300 foot distance from bird rookeries, and treat any bay crossing to the outer keys as a serious open-water trip rather than a quick paddle, conditions on Biscayne Bay can change fast.
Best Time to Paddle
Winter and early spring, roughly December through April, bring the calmest water and the most comfortable air temperatures for a full day on the bay, which is also why it lines up with South Florida's dry season and busier park visitation. Summer paddling is possible but comes with heat, humidity, afternoon thunderstorms that build fast over open water, and more mosquitoes in the mangroves. If you are picking dates around wind rather than heat, check the forecast the morning of, a light morning breeze on Biscayne Bay can build into a harder crossing back to Convoy Point by early afternoon.
Have Us Plan Your Biscayne Day
Tell us whether you are bringing your own kayak or want a guided boat day, and we will build the rest of a South Florida paddling trip around it. Planning is free.
Keep planning with Everglades National Park and Best Everglades Hiking Trails for Winter Dry Season.
Kayaking in Biscayne National Park: Routes, Rentals and Guided Trips FAQs
From the designated launch area next to the Dante Fascell Visitor Center at Convoy Point. It is free and needs no permit for a day paddle. Adams Key is a secondary launch point further south.
Not inside the park. Rentals are not currently offered at Biscayne, so you need to bring your own kayak or canoe, or book a guided boat trip through Biscayne National Park Institute instead.
A boat tour run by Biscayne National Park Institute that crosses Biscayne Bay and along the northernmost Florida Keys, stopping at Boca Chita Key, Elliott Key or Adams Key. It is currently running and is the closest thing to a signature Biscayne boat tour.
Jones Lagoon for rays, wading birds and calm, shallow water, or Hurricane Creek for a mangrove paddle with snorkeling beneath the roots. Both are reachable from the Convoy Point area without an open-water crossing.
Not for a day paddle. The only permit most paddlers need is a free overnight parking permit from the visitor center if leaving a car at Convoy Point while camping on one of the islands.
About 95 percent. The park protects Biscayne Bay, coral reefs, mangrove shoreline and the northernmost Florida Keys, and most of it is reachable only by boat or kayak.
Yes. The worked day-by-day plan is Everglades Kayaking Weekend: 3-Day Chickee Camping Route (3 Days), with the permits, the stays and the drive times already sorted. Tell us your dates and we will put it together for you and confirm what is genuinely open on those days. Asking is free: no card, no deposit, and nothing is held until you say yes.
